Republicans are already using the Solyndra issue against President Obama, suggesting there was fraud involved in a $535 million loan guarantee to the now-bankrupt solar panel company. George Kaiser, a big Obama fund-raiser, was one of the company’s investors.

They’re itching to make it a big issue in the general election. But a question in tonight’s debate highlighted the problem they might have doing that if Gov. Rick Perry is the nominee.

The Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty pitched a Solyndra question to Perry, who responded, “Well, I don’t think the federal government should be involved in that type of investment, period. If states want to choose to do that, I think that’s fine for states to do that.”

Tumulty cited a state auditor’s report critical of the Perry-championed Emerging Technology Fund, and noted a Dallas Morning News report it had given $16 million to companies connected to Perry campaign contributors.

“So how is this different in principle from the Obama administration’s efforts to pick winners in the future economy?” she asked.

Perry said the program has legislative oversight and, citing the similar Texas Enterprise Fund, said, “I can promise you, the 54,600 jobs that have been created and the $14 billion-plus worth of investment that has come out of the Enterprise Fund in the state of Texas, those people that have jobs today in the state of Texas, they are absolutely happy that we have got a program like that. And 75 percent of those emerging technology fund dollars, my appointees, never made a contribution to me, period.”

The Perry campaign later put out a statement correcting that to a better number: “More than 95 percent of funds granted by the TETF were awarded to companies connected to investors with no history of giving to the governor’s campaign.”

Tumulty pressed Perry about oversight, saying his appointees in some instances overruled regional boards that opposed the deals. Perry said every project had approval from not only his office, but the lieutenant governor and speaker.

But questions are sure to continue, not only about Perry’s connections to those who got state grants but about how many jobs they actually produced.